Friday, September 12, 2008

Ardelle: Pattern Notes

The word Ardelle has a Latin origin and means “warm”. This thick cabled hat knit from bulky weight wool definitely qualifies for that description! Ardelle is constructed by knitting a cabled band and then picking up around the edge of the band to create the crown. A fast knit, Ardelle is great for last minute gifts.The size is approximately a women’s med/large (about 22” head circum) but if you’ve knit a hat before you’ll find that the size can be easily adjusted. The cabled band is made of twin cables separated by a single purl stitch. The purl stitch pulls the cables together (the cable twists have been spaced to allow for cabled that “fit” each other perfectly) and creates a thick braid; however you could also block this out to make the cables separated.Please note that I realize that there are several designs similar to mine out there, I’m not claming to publish a new pattern, I’ve just written up my notes! :)

Abbreviations:Standard definitionsC4B = slip two stitches unto cable needle and place needle in back of work, knit two stitches from left hand needle, knit two stitches from cable needle.C4F = slip two stitches unto cable needle and place needle in front of work, knit two stitches from left hand needle, knit two stitches from cable needle.

NOTE: If you’d like your twin cables to be separated, block the band before moving on to the next step. You’ll need to pin the band out until dry, I just stretched mine out and let it dry, but this didn’t really separate the cables enough.

Now, carefully unravel your provisional cast on and place the resulting stitches on a double pointed needle. The live stitches that were never cast off should already be on a DPN. Graft the edges together, you could also use a three needle bind off, however I found this to be a little lumpy and it created a fairly obvious seam.After grafting, begin picking up stitches for the crown.On the K3 edge, (the long edge of the band, with the K3 selvage, not the K2 selvage) pick up 60sts. Try to pick these up in the slipped stitch “guide” your knitting has left. You’ll now be knitting in the round.Knit these stitches in stockinette stitch till hat measures 6.5-7”, from the bottom edge of the band, the hat’s entire height.

Decrease for crown:Rnd 1: *k2tog, k8* repeat from *to* around.Rnd 2: knitRnd 3: *k2tog, k7* repeat from *to* around.Rnd 2: knitContinue as established, until you are decreasing k2tog around without any stitches separating the decreases. NOTE: I also find it helpful to eliminate the rounds that are knit plain during the last two decrease rounds of the hat. This will eliminate the dreaded “cone head” syndrome. :)